Post by Speenatch on Oct 8, 2017 9:56:20 GMT
Speenatch sighed before he took in a deep breath. A nice, long one. A nice, long one that came in through his nose. He held it for a moment... then let it out through his mouth.
'One...'
Then it was time to repeat.
'Two...'
And then repeat.
'Three...'
And then repeat...
'Four...'
...And then repeat...
'One...'
Keeping count on his breathing didn't matter. Where he was didn't matter. The noises that faded away from his ears didn't matter. What time of day it was didn't matter. The clothing he was wearing, the black bands on his wrists and ankles. Those didn't matter, either. All that mattered was the flow of ki through his body. It started at his center. The source of his power. A source that was simultaneously a tranquil pool, and a raging fire that needed fuel from the body. From there, it spread to every limb, every fiber of muscle. It was as much a part of him, and as necessary, as his blood. And much like blood, it flowed.
However, unlike blood, he could control the flow somewhat. He could will it to go one way or the other, even outside of his body. There, he could shape and form it into various attacks, without even worrying about dying from blood-loss!
'One 'f many ways ki is better'n blood magic... Wait! No, no... I gotta focus. C'mon Speenatch. Use that darn "Will o' Steel" ta get ready... Yer gunna need it... Back ta countin'! One... two... three...... four.... One....'
He centered his focus again. The world bled away... And there was just him and his ki. He followed the flow back to the source of all of his energy... He took note of it... then turned his attention to the channels that said energy was traveling down. A brief flash came back to that botched tournament of his. When he'd first opened the channels wider. With it came the memory of the pain that followed. Even a memory of it was enough to send a shudder down the man's spine. It was also enough to make him reconsider going forward with what he planned to do.
'...Nah. I c'n do this... just gotta focus. I ain't lettin' it all go at once. Gonna work ma way back up ta that level. Nice'n slow. We're gonna go with baby steps.'
With that, he proceeded with the first of those "baby steps". Speenatch took a "hold" of the channels that his ki flowed through. Then, like before, he began to open them wider. Allowing more energy to flow at once. Unlike before, however, he didn't let them open up wide enough to cause a massive leap in power. Or pain. Pain in every part of his body all at once was to be avoided, if possible.
He did his best to keep his breathing and ki flow steady. The former was easy. The latter was difficult. He had to simultaneously widen the channels, while keeping them from opening so wide that he lost control. It was a bit like holding some amorphous hose... multiplied a thousand times over in every part of his body. A strain that he certainly felt in the way his muscles tensed, a physical action that mirrored the metaphysical one. His body began to break out into a cold sweat, his eyes scrunched and his brows furrowed. His jaw clenched together to grit his teeth. It was difficult. Oh so very, very difficult... but he did it. For fifteen cycles of breath, he kept the flow at the exact level he wanted.
It became too much after that. The "Unbreakable" Mister Steel took a break, and willed everything back to normal. The channels shrank, the flow went back to its normal constraints... and Speenatch came back to the real world. His eyes flew open, taking in the dense collection of thick tree-trunks all around him. His ears picked up the sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing... and the occasional rustling from animal movement and wind. There was actually a sliiiiiiight difference between the two. His body felt the ground and the tree he'd been using to support himself as he sat. Cross-legged, of course. It also felt the strain of his muscles constantly tensing up and pulsing as they struggled to... do something.
"Alrighty then..." He panted out as he slooooooowly pulled himself to his feet. He used the tree trunk to support himself, his legs were all wobbly. "...Good start, Steel... Good start.... Pick this up tomorrah. Fer now, shower. Rest. Make yerself a snack..." Once he was up on his pink-booted feet, and done talking to only himself, "The Unbreakable Mister Steel" limped his way to his little Capsule-Corp brand portable house in a nearby clearing. He had to rest up for tomorrow....
'Cause I'm gonna go fer more power fer longer then.... An' tha same thing on tha next day... an' tha next day... an' tha next day... an' tha next day... But first, noodles. With sum fried veggies. Yeah... maybe sum o' that chicken I got last week fried with 'em.'
[Thread PL: 31,200.]
[Medium Weights Active: Reduced PL = 15,600]
[Tier 1 House is present]
'One...'
Then it was time to repeat.
'Two...'
And then repeat.
'Three...'
And then repeat...
'Four...'
...And then repeat...
'One...'
Keeping count on his breathing didn't matter. Where he was didn't matter. The noises that faded away from his ears didn't matter. What time of day it was didn't matter. The clothing he was wearing, the black bands on his wrists and ankles. Those didn't matter, either. All that mattered was the flow of ki through his body. It started at his center. The source of his power. A source that was simultaneously a tranquil pool, and a raging fire that needed fuel from the body. From there, it spread to every limb, every fiber of muscle. It was as much a part of him, and as necessary, as his blood. And much like blood, it flowed.
However, unlike blood, he could control the flow somewhat. He could will it to go one way or the other, even outside of his body. There, he could shape and form it into various attacks, without even worrying about dying from blood-loss!
'One 'f many ways ki is better'n blood magic... Wait! No, no... I gotta focus. C'mon Speenatch. Use that darn "Will o' Steel" ta get ready... Yer gunna need it... Back ta countin'! One... two... three...... four.... One....'
He centered his focus again. The world bled away... And there was just him and his ki. He followed the flow back to the source of all of his energy... He took note of it... then turned his attention to the channels that said energy was traveling down. A brief flash came back to that botched tournament of his. When he'd first opened the channels wider. With it came the memory of the pain that followed. Even a memory of it was enough to send a shudder down the man's spine. It was also enough to make him reconsider going forward with what he planned to do.
'...Nah. I c'n do this... just gotta focus. I ain't lettin' it all go at once. Gonna work ma way back up ta that level. Nice'n slow. We're gonna go with baby steps.'
With that, he proceeded with the first of those "baby steps". Speenatch took a "hold" of the channels that his ki flowed through. Then, like before, he began to open them wider. Allowing more energy to flow at once. Unlike before, however, he didn't let them open up wide enough to cause a massive leap in power. Or pain. Pain in every part of his body all at once was to be avoided, if possible.
He did his best to keep his breathing and ki flow steady. The former was easy. The latter was difficult. He had to simultaneously widen the channels, while keeping them from opening so wide that he lost control. It was a bit like holding some amorphous hose... multiplied a thousand times over in every part of his body. A strain that he certainly felt in the way his muscles tensed, a physical action that mirrored the metaphysical one. His body began to break out into a cold sweat, his eyes scrunched and his brows furrowed. His jaw clenched together to grit his teeth. It was difficult. Oh so very, very difficult... but he did it. For fifteen cycles of breath, he kept the flow at the exact level he wanted.
It became too much after that. The "Unbreakable" Mister Steel took a break, and willed everything back to normal. The channels shrank, the flow went back to its normal constraints... and Speenatch came back to the real world. His eyes flew open, taking in the dense collection of thick tree-trunks all around him. His ears picked up the sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing... and the occasional rustling from animal movement and wind. There was actually a sliiiiiiight difference between the two. His body felt the ground and the tree he'd been using to support himself as he sat. Cross-legged, of course. It also felt the strain of his muscles constantly tensing up and pulsing as they struggled to... do something.
"Alrighty then..." He panted out as he slooooooowly pulled himself to his feet. He used the tree trunk to support himself, his legs were all wobbly. "...Good start, Steel... Good start.... Pick this up tomorrah. Fer now, shower. Rest. Make yerself a snack..." Once he was up on his pink-booted feet, and done talking to only himself, "The Unbreakable Mister Steel" limped his way to his little Capsule-Corp brand portable house in a nearby clearing. He had to rest up for tomorrow....
'Cause I'm gonna go fer more power fer longer then.... An' tha same thing on tha next day... an' tha next day... an' tha next day... an' tha next day... But first, noodles. With sum fried veggies. Yeah... maybe sum o' that chicken I got last week fried with 'em.'
[Thread PL: 31,200.]
[Medium Weights Active: Reduced PL = 15,600]
[Tier 1 House is present]
